In court

Tom GeogheganBBC News, Fort Meade

After 10 weeks of legal argument, the sentencing was over in minutes. Judge Col Denise Lind sat in front of the Stars and Stripes and the US Army flag as she sentenced Pte Manning to 35 years in prison.

The 25-year-old defendant, in full military uniform, cut a diminutive, bespectacled figure as he sat in court, tapping his feet and rearranging his papers. But as he stood to hear her words he showed little emotion. And his aunt, Debra van Alstyne, also seemed impassive behind him.

The hush was broken as he was led away. His supporters, dressed in black T-shirts bearing the word "truth", ignored earlier warnings by court officials and the judge to remain calm. Shouts of "We'll be waiting for you, Bradley" and "Thank you, Bradley, we love you" rang out.

Pte Manning will receive a credit against his sentence of about three and a half years, including time he has already served in jail and 112 days in recompense for the harsh conditions of his initial confinement.

His defence lawyer David Coombs said Pte Manning would first be eligible for parole in about seven years.

Prosecutors had asked for a 60-year sentence in order to send a message to future potential leakers, and Wikileaks called the 35-year sentence a "significant strategic victory".

Military prosecutors did not immediately comment.

In addition to the prison sentence, likely to be served at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Judge Col Denise Lind sentenced Pte Manning to be demoted to private and dishonourably discharged from the US Army, and to forfeit his pay.

While stationed in Iraq in 2010, the junior intelligence analyst passed hundreds of thousands of battlefield reports and diplomatic cables to Wikileaks, the pro-transparency group headed by Julian Assange.

'End Brad's suffering'

Pte Manning has said he leaked the secret files in the hopes of sparking a public debate about US foreign policy and the military.

Pte Manning was taken from the courtroom shortly after the sentencing

On Wednesday afternoon, Mr Coombs, flanked by Manning supporters, said he would ask President Obama to pardon Pte Manning.

"The time to end Brad's suffering is now," he said.

Mr Coombs read a statement from Pte Manning that will be included in the request.

"The decisions I made in 2010 were made out of a concern for my country and the world we live in," Pte Manning said, according to Mr Coombs.

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Kevin Fox, Bradley Manning's uncle: ''He's a hero''

"When I chose to disclose classified information... I did so out of love for our country and a sense of duty for others. If you deny my request for a pardon I will serve my time knowing that sometimes you have to pay a heavy price to live in a free society."

Mr Coombs also read a statement from the soldier's family, which said they were "saddened and disappointed" by the sentence.

For his own part, the lawyer said he was in tears after the sentence was handed down but that Pte Manning had told him: "I know you did your best. It's going to be OK."

When asked about the pardon request, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said he was "not going to get ahead" of the process.

The soldier's uncle, Kevin Fox, of Haverfordwest, Wales, said the family had expected a harsher sentence.

"In my honest opinion, he shouldn't have been given any time at all," Mr Fox told the BBC. "In my eyes he is a hero."

The charges

Guilty: Seven out of eight espionage charges, five theft charges, two computer fraud charges, five military counts of violating a lawful general regulation, one of wanton publication of intelligence on the internet

Not guilty: Aiding the enemy, unauthorised possession of information relating to national defence

The verdict and sentence will be reviewed, and possibly reduced, by a military district commander and will be automatically reviewed by the Army Court of Criminal Appeals.

Pte Manning may also petition the court for lenience during the appeals process.

Isolated deployment

The young soldier grew up in Oklahoma and in Wales, where his mother is from, and reportedly joined the US Army to help pay for college.

The leaks enabled Wikileaks to publish sensitive messages between US diplomats and records of military incidents in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a cockpit video showing an Apache helicopter killing 12 people in the Iraqi capital in 2007.

The revelations caused significant embarrassment to the US government, and its officials have said the disclosures damaged America's relations with its allies and disrupted the war effort in Afghanistan.

Comment number 1598.

Pauloo1122nd August 2013 - 1:33

This guy is a criminal. Plain and simple. He's seriously compromised the security of his country. You think other nations aren't engaged in this type of activity? You're dreaming, welcome to the real world, people. If you want to do this type of thing, go stand on the corner with a sandwich board. The army is no place for you.

Comment number 1394.

Draconis21st August 2013 - 22:07

I signed the official secrets act a long time ago, I still know sensitive information, I wouldn't dream of divulging it. However when a government or even a humble soldier does something that is morally wrong, inhumane or indefensible then if you don't blow the whistle then you are part of that moral wrongdoing. Manning shone a bright light on some very dark events, his actions were admirable

Comment number 1284.

hdx15921st August 2013 - 21:06

Reveal a crime and you are prosecuted. Don't reveal and they get away with wrongdoing. And if you protest this Catch 22 they claim they are right on the basis of "national security". Whistle-blowers are thus scared off reporting for fear of the consequences and we are all worse of because of it. Can the Nobel Prize be reclaimed from Obama perhaps ?

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